A Winning Habit
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Montreal Canadiens: Rookie excitement and a Nikita Scherbak surge

By Omar L

MONTREAL, QC - MARCH 13: Montreal Canadiens right wing Nikita Scherbak (38) celebrates after scoring during the third period of the NHL game between the Dallas Stars and the Montreal Canadiens on March 13, 2018, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, QC (Photo by Vincent Ethier/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
MONTREAL, QC - MARCH 13: Montreal Canadiens right wing Nikita Scherbak (38) celebrates after scoring during the third period of the NHL game between the Dallas Stars and the Montreal Canadiens on March 13, 2018, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, QC (Photo by Vincent Ethier/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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MONTREAL, QC – MARCH 19: (Photo by Francois Lacasse/NHLI via Getty Images) /

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OW: I would be shocked if Nikita Scherbak didn’t make the team out of camp. He’s most likely going to start on the third line with Tomas Plekanec as his centre,=and it would take a really strong performance at camp or some other factor to see him in the top-six. That said, he will and should get the minutes to be an impact on the ice.

The powerplay is most likely going to be his domain and could fill in on Alex Galchenyuk‘s spot. He has a very accurate shot but made a lot of cross-ice passes on the man advantage down in the minors. Another area where could work would be in the mid-slot (assuming one of the units he’s on using the 4-1 umbrella). Scherbak’s hands in tight are very underrated and a year of being used in that location of the offensive zone may be what he needs to continue to perfect it.

I don’t want to go overboard with the predictions because a large part of it will depend on how Julien uses him. But if everything goes well, Scherbak could get a 35-point season with 12-15 goals that go with it.

Bonus Question: Thoughts on the change to the centre ice logo?

NL: I liked the old logo which showed that Montreal is bilingual better.

ZC: I always liked the fact that the Canadiens had two logos at center ice, but sometimes change is needed. I’ll give it a chance.

KR: I like it. I always liked big logos at centre ice. What impressed me the most about is how they managed to incorporate the centre ice line into the logo without compromising the logo or the actual centre ice line. It’s a transition year…I’m allowed to get excited over a logo at centre ice.

Next. A Big Year for Byron. dark

OW: I always appreciated the bilingual nature of the centre ice logo, but there’s nothing wrong with a bigger representation. Maybe it could end up sending a few waves of positive karma Montreal’s way this year.

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